How Does a Yogi Unwind?

Alanna Kaivalya
Alanna Kaivalya is the author of Myths of the Asanas and Sacred Sound. She is reinterpreting Joseph Campbell's work for the 21st century.

A bunch of friends asked me recently if I would join them on a three day yoga adventure. I politely declined.

Yoga is my life. I live it. Breathe it. Eat it. Sleep it. When I get up in the morning, if I'm not doing yoga, I'm emailing about it. Then, I may stop to read about it. If I meet a friend for lunch, we're inevitably going to talk about it. So when I go on vacation, the last thing I want it to do is yoga.

In fact, I took my first real vacation in more than several years recently to Miami. Those who know me would laugh and remind me of all the beautiful places I've travelled to over the past year - Bali, India, Alaska, Colorado, California... But in all those places, even if I had a day or two off, I was still teaching yoga. Or talking about yoga. And this little trip to Miami? Well, it was the first trip I've been on in I don't know how long where that topic of conversation never came up.

And, it felt so good! I relaxed by the pool and laid in the sun. I indulged in big brunches and late night room service. A couple of good buddies and I went for a nice "girls weekend," and we vowed to leave our work at home. So we did.

I unplugged my computer and let the battery wear down so I wouldn't check any emails. We made an agreement that we would allot about 15 minutes every day to Blackberry/iPhone addictions. But that was it. Other than that, in order to unwind, I had to unplug and let go. Yoga teaches this, and it's actually a very "yogic" thing to do - to let go of the thing that we are most obsessed with in favor of a little fun and sun and sand. It was so refreshing, and I highly recommend it.

Whether our passion is yoga, or accounting or event planning, at some point we must leave it all to clear our mind and let the spring run clear again. It's nice to drop all the attachments to our lives - even the fabulous ones - every once in a while. We have to wipe the slate clean in order to write on it again. Adventures like this leave us feeling refreshed, replenished and ready to jump, once again, into our passions.

Even when life is rolling along fabulously, a break from it all can do wonders. When we're our best selves and enjoying our days, we're probably still working a little too hard or checking the "crackberry" a little too often. Those who love their lives can still benefit from a good ol' fashioned vacation. Just to clarify, the word vacation is defined by Merriam-Webster as "a time of respite from something." Why wait until you can't stand your job anymore before taking one? Why not indulge even when life is grand to make it just a little grander? One of life's little goals is to be happy. No one says we have to wait until we're miserable to take the kind of respite that will allow us to continue to enjoy our full and happy lives.